Mirvac Restocks Landbank with 80ha Greenfield Site

Mirvac has picked up a major greenfield site in Sydney’s south-west growth corridor as the record year for detached home building continues to place pressure on supply.

The move by Mirvac enables the developer to restock its landbank in Australia’s most expensive city where stock has been snapped up by the HomeBuilder program and lot prices have surged.

Because of the lack of supply Mirvac has been able to bring forward releases to meet the demand and, at the half year, reported near-record sales in its other masterplanned communities.

Its latest acquisition is for 80ha of zoned land in Cobbitty, south west of Sydney near the town of Camden.

The greenfield site was offloaded by Chinese-backed property funds and development firm Roberts Jones after it purchased the site for $232 million in 2017 with plans of its own for a 990-lot subdivision.

Mirvac now plans to pursue a similarly scaled masterplanned community, comprising 950 land lots.

The site sits next to the suburbs of Oran Park and Harrington Grove and is near Mirvac’s recently completed Crest project at Gledswood Hills consisting of 592 land lots.

Mirvac head of residential Stuart Penklis said he expected demand in and around the region over the next 12 to 18 months to remain heightened ahead of international borders reopening and migration resuming.

“Having successfully delivered Crest, we’re excited to once again be in a position to contribute to Sydney’s rapidly evolving south west corridor,” Penklis said.

“Land and homes in this area are experiencing strong demand due to significant local infrastructure investment including the new Western Sydney International Airport and Aerotropolis now taking shape.”

Colliers’ Frank Oliveri, who was responsible for the deal, said the property was highly sought-after by both institutional developers and a number of the large home builders in the region.

“Residential lots have increased by over 25 per cent in many parts of the market and developers have paid higher prices to secure land stock in the short to medium term,” Oliveri said.

Subject to approval, plans for the new community include a range of lot sizes, from 1000sq m to 225sq m, playing fields, a future town centre and community facilities.

The first development approval for the first 150 lots is expected shortly.

Greenfield markets have been sent into overdrive in the past 12 months due to record low interest rates, confidence returning among owner-occupier buyers, and financial savings provided by the federal government’s HomeBuilder stimulus scheme.

In August, Mirvac also reinforced its presence in Melbourne’s south east, paying $70 million for a 30ha site in Clyde North that will support almost 300 lots with an end value exceeding $100 million or about $180 million including completed homes.